Key Verses
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." - Genesis 1:1
"So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female." - Genesis 1:27
Lesson Objective
“Man
was originally created in the image and likeness of God” - C&MA Statement of Faith
Resources
Creation (Andrew M Davis, Gospel Coalition)
Biblical reasons to doubt the creation days were 24 hour periods (Justin Taylor, Gospel Coalition)
The Image of God
Image: God loves (Mark Driscoll) - Audio; Video & Transcript
Image of God (The Bible Project)
Covenants (The Bible Project)
Why do I exist? (Desiring God)
Our Purpose (Ligonier Ministries)
What are you called to do? A theology of work (The Gospel Coalition)
The origin, essence and purpose of Man (Henry Bavinck, 1854-1921) (In-depth article)
Why do I exist? (Desiring God)
Our Purpose (Ligonier Ministries)
What are you called to do? A theology of work (The Gospel Coalition)
The origin, essence and purpose of Man (Henry Bavinck, 1854-1921) (In-depth article)
Part 1: The Creation of the World
"In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
How did the universe begin?
What different stories or accounts do you know of?
There are 3 important words or phrases in the key verse:
“God”, “create”, “the heavens and the earth”.
God – the
Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) are all there at creation:
- Father (Genesis 1:3):
- Son (John 1:1, Colossians 1:16-17):
- Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2)
Create – What
do we mean when we use the word “create” (or related words like “creative”) in
everyday language? How is this different
from how God creates?
The heavens and
the earth – this means everything
in the universe. Name some examples set
out in Genesis 1.
Controversy – God & science
There are many ways view of how the Biblical creation
account fits together with science, for example:
Theories
|
God’s
place in creation
|
Earth
Age
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Young Earth
|
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Gap Theory (gap between 1st and 2nd
day)
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Day-Age (Ps 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8)
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Theistic Evolution
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Abiogenesis/Darwinian Evolution
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Mark Driscoll lists a number of ways that we can see God’s nature in creation, whichever position we take on the details:
- God is eternal and exists before creation. (Gen 1:1)
- God is living and life comes from God. (Gen 1:26-27)
- God is independent of creation, while creation is dependent on Him. (Col 1:17)
- God is transcendent and separate from His creation.
- God is imminent and actively involved in His creation (Jesus, miracles: Gospel/Acts)
- God is personal. (Gen 1:26-27)
- God is powerful: He made everything from nothing.
- God is beautiful and creation reflects this.
- God is orderly (note the order of creation in Gen 1).
- God is good, and what He makes was originally good before sin entered the world. (Gen 1:10, 12, 17, 21, 25, 31)
- God preaches – He spoke the universe into existence.
- God is gracious and blesses His creation. (Gen 1:28)
What should our reaction be to God the Creator (Psalms
33:6-9)?
Discussion questions
1. What sources of information do you use to learn
about God? About science? How do you work out whether the sources are
reliable?
2. Does debate about creation accounts lead people to God? When might arguing be fruitful or unfruitful?
2. Does debate about creation accounts lead people to God? When might arguing be fruitful or unfruitful?
Reflection questions
3. Do you believe the Bible as being true and inerrant? How does this affect the way you read Genesis 1? How does this affect the way you view the science (Job 38:4-7)?4. What do you think of this quote: “The intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how the heavens go.” (Galileo Galilei)? Do you agree?
Part 2: The Image of God
“So God created man in
His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and
female.” (Genesis 1:27)
Read Genesis 2:4-25.
What does this intimate account of the Creation of Man say about the place that
Man has in God’s eyes? (cf Psalm 139:13-16)
God created the world “very good”. What did He say was not good? (see vs 18) What implications
does this have for us?
Christians believe that humans are made “in the image of
God”. What are the beliefs of other religions and belief systems of the origins
of Mankind? What do they believe about the essence
of humanity?
Implications of this Doctrine
Discuss: “What difference does it make in a person’s life to
know they are lovingly and purposefully created as opposed to being merely a
“product of the random collision of atoms? How does the Doctrine of Imago Dei
affect how a Christian should see himself? How would this be different from
someone who does not believe in this Doctrine?”
What are some distorted views on humanity? How does the
doctrine of Imago Dei help people who hold these distorted self-images? What is
the cause for self-worth in the Christian WorldView?
How does the Doctrine of Imago Dei affect the Christian
stance on issues like Abortion, Euthanasia, and the treatment of the Poor,
Marginalised and Disabled? How would the lack
of conviction in this doctrine affect our view of these same issues? How do
people with different worldviews see these issues? Discuss.
Who is the perfect Image of God? (Col 1:15)
How does one become a better Image of God? (see 2 Cor 3:18)
What was Man made for? (Ie what is the purpose of Man’s
existence; or what is the purpose of life?) If Man is made for this purpose,
what does this mean with regards to how we can best find most joy?
How is a knowledge of the Created Order important in shaping
the way we relate to God and the rest of Creation?
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